Live blogging on the music industry’s biggest night.
5:25 pm: Ariana Grande introduces The Weeknd, joking “he earned it,” before breaking into song echoing the sentiment. @karrieraspberry nailed it in her tweet: “I applaud @ArianaGrande for owning that corny line some professional writer stuck her with.”
5:13 pm: Country stars Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood perform “Take Your Time/Heartbeat.”
5:12 pm: And the winner for Best Rap Album is… To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. “This is for hip-hop,” he said upon accepting the award. It’s no secret Butterfly eloquently addresses a number of social and political ills plaguing the country, and Lamar seems intent to carry on the real messaging that started with some of his Compton idols. Not a surprise win, but a deserved one.
5:10 pm: Host LL Cool J‘s opening monologue included shout outs to past performers (Adele, Lady Gaga, Elton John), a nod to David Bowie and a reminder that “with all that divides us today, our shared love of music unites us — all of us.”
5 pm: In front of a spooky backdrop and sporting a black sequined jumpsuit, Taylor Swift kicks off the 58th Annual Grammy Awards with “Out of the Woods.” Taking her seat after her performance, Swift got a warm hug from one of her BFFs, Selena Gomez.
4:55 pm: Host LL Cool J predicts that there will be plenty of chatter around Kendrick Lamar and that Lady Gaga‘s performance will be mind-altering.
4:50 pm: Andra Day gets mad props from CBS announcer on the red carpet. The soul songtress will perform in tonight’s telecast.
4:45 pm: The goodie bags are ready!
4:30 pm: The red carpet is heating up as nominees and other notables arrive at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. There’s been chatter about Tay-Tay’s new ‘do (a sassy bob) and crop top while Charlie Puth did a little beat boxing and Justin Bieber and James Corden were shown rolling down the road singing “Uptown Funk.”
Carrie Underwood flashed some big and beautiful bling her husband gave her for Valentine’s Day, Tori Kelly chatted about her upcoming performance with James Bay and Lionel Richie said he was on the prowl to find Adele. His first words to her? Well, “Hello,” of course.
3:40 pm: Talk about charm, Tony Bennett humbly accepts his 18th Grammy with a smile and a chuckle.
Happy and I are delighted to be in Los Angeles for @TheGRAMMYs tonight! pic.twitter.com/JZZalRk3Yw
— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) February 15, 2016
3:30 pm: This year, it seemed like the Grammys just couldn’t wait to start handing out awards, and a handful of nominees walked off with a gold-plated gramophone before the televised event began.
Those nominees included first-time winners Chris Stapleton (Best Country Solo Performance for “Traveller”) and Alabama Shakes (Best Alternative Music Album for Sound & Color” and Best Rock Song for “Don’t Wanna Fight”).
Other awards were passed out to D’Angelo for his comeback album, Black Messiah, Little Big Town‘s “Girl Crush” won for Best Country Song and it’s no surprise that Kendrick Lamar walked with an award for his track “Alright.”
Other pre-show winners include:
Best Pop Solo Performance: Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Mark Ronson (featuring Bruno Mars), “Uptown Funk”
Best Pop Vocal Album: Taylor Swift, 1989
Best Dance Recording: Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber, “Where Are Ü Now” (Believe it or not, this was the Biebs first Grammy.)
A complete list of nominees and winners is available on the Grammys website.
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